U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents captured 2,000 criminal illegal aliens, ICE officials revealed earlier this week. The illegal immigrants rounded up during the sweep have all reportedly been convicted of crimes but had remained living on American soil.
The criminal illegal immigrants were a part of Operation Cross Check . The five-day “national dragnet” is a continuation of similar tactical operations which began in 2011, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
Department of Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said, “The focus is on public safety and national security ,” in reference to the deportation of illegal immigrants.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Sarah Saldana had this to say about the criminal illegal immigrants captured during Operation Cross Check.
“Public safety is directly and significantly improved by deporting those individuals involved in crime. By focusing on those who pose the greatest risk to our communities, we are marshaling our limited resources in the most responsible manner.”
A total of 2,059 illegal immigrants were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during the sweep. The crimes committed by the individuals who entered the country illegally include child pornography, robbery, manslaughter, robbery, and rape, according to ICE officials. A little less than 1,000 of the criminal illegal aliens captured by the agents had been convicted on DUI charges.
The illegal immigrants arrested during Operation Cross Check include 476 felons who had been charged with immigration violations.
The Obama administration deported approximately 316,000 people during the most recent fiscal year, the smallest number since the president took office, according to a Los Angeles Times report. U.S. Border Patrol agents reportedly “turned around” approximately two-thirds of those individuals as they attempted to cross the Mexican border into America.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr , President Obama’s DACA immigration executive order has been placed on hold by a U.S. District Judge in Texas. The Texas judge wants the Justice Department to respond to specific concerns about the implementation of specific portions of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals mandates. The Obama administration told U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen that the federal government had not moved forward with the 2012 executive action when legal proceedings first began. The White House has reportedly admitted that action had already begun in the three-year deportation reprieves for illegal immigrants.
What do you think about the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement capture of 2,000 criminal illegal immigrants? Is border security also an issue of national security?
[Image by Getty Images/John Moore]